


...Killian and Belle discussed the nature of time

by BarPurple



Series: So this one time... [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Temporal Mechanics, Time is complex, drinking buddies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-10
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-25 22:48:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6213274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarPurple/pseuds/BarPurple





	...Killian and Belle discussed the nature of time

She wasn’t sure how their regular drinking sessions had started, but now once upon a now and then Beauty and the Pirate had drinks and no one raised even the hint of an eyebrow at it. 

With the exaggerated care that comes for having one to many double rums Belle placed her shot glass on the table.

“So how old are you?”

The pirate captain opposite her blinked and refilled their glasses.

“Round about two hundred and thirty. Why?”

Belle picked up her now full glass of rum and waved it at Killian in unsteady circles. His head rolled as he followed the motion, who would have thought a teeny tiny bookworm could hold her liquor? Who’d have thought the ickle woman in silly heels could drink a pirate under the table? Anyone who doubted Belle was a fu… oh wait, cursing bad Belle said so, very silly person indeed. 

Belle got her thoughts lined up into words and fired them at him in a babble;

“You know Rumple from before and he stabbed the… he became the Dark, Dark thingy. And that’s like three hundred wottists, year, but you, you claim to be two hundred and sumink. How’s that work?”

Killian dragged his tongue slow over his bottom lip, hell’s teeth he wasn’t sober enough for this conversation, but this was Belle asking so he was going to answer. Hopefully.

“Okay, you listening? Good. The Crocodile was born about a year, we think, before me. It’s a pain in the arse to work out, because the Frontlands and the Five Isle use different thingys, calendars. Those thingys, yeah. So Rumple is older than me but you see I spent way more time in different realms, realms where time is thingy… different, so I’ve lived less time than him. Kinda, yeah I’ve lived less days than the Cro… Rumple, so I’m younger than him, sort of, I think.”

Killian trailed off. There was just enough sense in his head still sober to tell him that he was really fucking this up, seriously as explanations went this one was crap, well sort of crap, the time thingy wasn’t easy to sort out ever. He blinked at the three Belles in front of him and squinted an eye shut, because that meant there was one Belle and how could there be any more than one of this stunning, smart, insane woman? Opps, can’t think like that about her. Croc would eat him for breakfast. Wow, waffles would be nice now. Oh, hang on Belle talking need to listen.

“So, hang on, you’re younger than him because time moves thingy in different thingys?”

“Yeah. Probably.”

Belle huffed hard and threw back her glass of rum.

“So my Rum is a yearish older than you, but you’re like, fifty years younger than him?”

“Yeah.”

“That makes, no sense at all.”

Killian swirled his rum glass, which would have been more impressive if there had been any rum in it. Belle snatched the bottle and sloshed a shot or three in the direction his glass. Killian muttered his thanks for the one that ended up in the glass and tried to remember what they were talking about. Time and stuff. Got this.

“It…it does make sense. I travelled to loads of different realms. Once went away for six months came back found out ten years had pa…pa… gone by.”

“Ah. Aha, so yous only count the time you lived?”

“Yeah. Would be silly to do it the other way.”

“What’s the other way?”

“Not the way I do it. I think.”

Belle sniffed and pointed a finger at his shoulder, then she managed to prod at his chest with surprising force.

“Magic is a right royal pain in the arse.”

Killian’s head almost hit the table top as he nodded enthusiastically. He raised his glass to Belle to toast their concord in this tricky matter of time and stuff, only to find it pulled from his hand.

“Oi!” 

“Oh dear. Again?”

Belle and Killian had to close one eye and squint to get the new figures at their table in focus. Belle’s arms shot out and grabbed at one of the newcomers. It took her two attempts to connect. 

“Rumple! Ello dearie! Hows you?”

“Better than you come the morning I think sweetheart.”

Killian laughed as Belle was picked up from her stool by the still blurry bloke.

“Oh, Belle, you’re pissed!”

The bloke holding Belle tutted.

“Do you require assistance Miss Swan?”

Swan, that blurry bloke was talking about his Swan. Bad Form. Killian tried to frown at him, but it just made the room tilt in a really funny way. He giggled as a soft warm hand petted his hair.

“It’s alright Gold, I got this. You okay?”

“I think we both have this down pat now.”

There was a weird rush of red that tasted of gold, but the only thing Killian cared about was the pretty fingers stroking through his hair. Pretty fingers. Wait. Oh bugger.

“Hey Em, how you love?”

A deep sigh came from the blurry blonde angel at his side.

“Why do we let you and Belle drink together?”

Killian grinned up at her with a sloppy smile.

“Because, Belle and me has thingies in common that nobody else gets.”

Emma sighed as Killian’s head thudded against her hip. She took a slow deep breath, he was right. Who else in this town, in any realm for that matter, knew what it was to love the Dark One? (Well apart from her, but that was different. She'd made her love the Dark One, let's not get into that). Emma wrapped her arm around Killian and smoked them back home with a soft smile. She didn’t heal Killian completely, he had strong feelings about suffering his hangovers, (‘I’ve drunk the rum, I’ll take the headache, Swan!’), but she did make sure that he wouldn’t feel like total shit in the morning. She tucked him into bed and ran her hand over his jaw with a smile. Tonight she was her pirate’s Saviour, in two days’ time it would be Killian carrying her home after her and Gold had their now traditional follow up night out.


End file.
